Stock Market News Today: Dow Surges as Tech Giants Lead Rally on Fresh Fed Rate-Cut Hopes

U.S. futures edge higher while Asia rallies on Iran de-escalation hopes Early Monday, S&P 500 contracts added 0.11 %, Nasdaq 100 futures gained 0.33 %, and Dow Jones futures slipped about 0.1 % as traders reacted to President Trump’s overnight “Project Freedom” plan aimed at reopening the Strait of Hormuz. Key indexes finished last week at record levels—the S&P 500 rose 0.29 % and the Nasdaq 0.89 % on Friday—thanks to strong tech earnings and cooling oil prices. Middle-East headlines cool crude, boost risk appetite • WTI crude for July slid 0.26 % to $101.68, while Brent eased to $108.03 after the Strait of Hormuz rescue proposal reduced supply-shock fears. • Lower energy costs helped South Korea’s Kospi surge 4.26 % to a fresh all-time high; Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 1.8 %. Markets in Japan and mainland China were shut for holidays. • In India, Nifty 50 futures opened with a gap-up and analysts recommend buying on intraday dips as the index eyes 24,300. Wall Street’s week ahead: jobs data and a flood of earnings Traders will parse April’s non-farm payrolls on Friday; consensus looks for just 53,000 new jobs after March’s 178,000 surge, keeping unemployment at 4.3 %. Before then, nearly one-quarter of the S&P 500 reports results, including: Monday, May 4 • Palantir, Norwegian Cruise Line, Tyson Foods Tuesday • Pfizer, PayPal, Advanced Micro Devices, Shopify Wednesday • Disney, Uber, CVS Health, Arm Holdings Thursday • McDonald’s, Shell, Airbnb, Block, Coinbase Friday • Toyota Motor, Nintendo, Wendy’s (Full list: 121 companies). Robust tech numbers have reinforced the “Magnificent Seven” AI narrative, and analysts at Wolfe Research expect investors to keep chasing semiconductor and memory names. What to watch intra-day 1. Treasury yields: any retreat below 4 % on the 10-year could add fuel to the rally. 2. Dollar index: a dip would extend relief to export-heavy benchmarks such as the DAX and Nikkei. 3. Volatility: the VIX closed Friday near 13; a break under 12 often precedes momentum buying. Outlook With geopolitical tensions easing and earnings momentum intact, the path of least resistance for U.S. equities remains higher in the near term. However, a soft jobs print or renewed Middle-East flare-ups could spark profit-taking after the market’s strongest April since 2020. Investors may consider rotating partial gains from mega-cap tech into cyclical names that benefit from lower oil and a stabilizing global economy.